Chapter 125
Chapter 125. The Hero, the Imperial Princess, the Maid, and the Spider Lily
Neigh—
A beautiful sound like that of a spider lily rang out; a black-haired graceful figure pulled on the reins.
The Dragon Bloodmane beneath her—snow-white as fresh powder—slowly came to a halt, giving a soft snort, its golden vertical pupils holding nothing but docility.
She dismounted lightly, her black hair lifting in the wind, catching the Twin Moon Deities' clear light.
"Oh? Little Qili has finally arrived?"
Serela's voice carried over from a distance; the golden-haired Imperial Princess dressed in a magnificent platinum ceremonial gown walked over with graceful steps.
The black-haired figure turned around; the expression on her breathtakingly beautiful face was unreadable, her long dense lashes fragmenting the moonlight, nose elegantly arched, lips like petals, her skin like congealed fat, outdoing frost and snow.
A pair of radiant silver eyes, gorgeous as a second Twin Moon, reflected the twin moons of the night sky.
"Sister Serela." The black-haired figure gave a faint nod and released her jade hand that had been unconsciously pressed against the sword hilt at her waist.
"Qili is here to first congratulate Sister Serela and that person on successfully forging the Marriage Covenant."
Qili spoke her congratulations with quiet, elegant composure, without a trace of emotional ripple in her words.
Hearing that the black-haired girl before her still refused to mention her elder brother's name, Serela gave a small smile and paid it no mind.
"Qili, come inside with me—though the Covenant Ceremony has already concluded, your friends in the capital…… are still in the banquet hall."
With that, Serela gently took Qili's jade hand and was just about to usher her into Xino Palace.
"They are not friends……"
"Mm? Qili, what did you say?" Serela hadn't caught the black-haired girl's soft murmur.
"Nothing." Qili immediately denied it.
Serela paid it no mind and said with a smile: "Rose was talking to me just earlier and kept mentioning your name."
"Mm……"
"Right—Sister Serela, where is that person?" The girl hesitated for a moment before asking softly.
"Has he mixed in with those troublesome friends of his again?" Qili added the guess she couldn't help making.
Hearing this, Serela stopped walking.
She turned around; her willow brows arched faintly, her expression somewhat troubled. "Qili, let me explain first……"
"Luo Nan…… personally went to look for his missing maidservant, and has yet to be seen since." Serela told her honestly.
"Is it Aina?" Qili asked.
The image of that small, soft, fragile little maidservant who always trailed behind Luo Nan—with her pair of emerald eyes—surfaced in the girl's mind at once.
"It's Aina," Serela nodded. "Qili, don't worry—I've already ordered the Royal Guard to conduct a thorough sweep of the entire Xino Palace; I'm sure very soon……"
"Where was that person last seen?" Before Serela could finish, Qili was already asking in an urgent tone.
"……Come with me."
Serela understood the relationship between Qili and Luo Nan; she could understand the urgency and worry her younger sister must feel, having just returned, to immediately hear that her brother had gone missing.
It was just that…… Little Qili didn't seem to be very good at expressing herself.
"Huh? Lady Serela?"
The moment Serela and Qili stepped into Xino Palace, Anya and Aina had just been "delivered" to the gates of Xino Palace by Aeldelin.
The four of them met face to face.
"Anya? Why are you here?"
Serela also hadn't anticipated running into this young woman who had once served as liaison between Luo Nan and herself in a case investigation.
By rights, given her status as a commoner, she had no standing to attend the Covenant Grand Banquet between herself and Luo Nan.
"It was Luo Nan who invited me……" Anya answered on reflex, but halfway through her words, she felt something was off.
It was the "Crow-Beak Mask" who had invited the "Cloth-Strip-Face."
On the surface at least, it had nothing to do with Luo Nan or Anya herself.
"It was Luo Nan……" Serela narrowed her eyes to a slight squint, her expression playful. "It seems the two of you are on quite good terms……"
"W-well, it's nothing really…… mainly he needed me to help him with something, so he invited me…… " As she said this, Anya's confidence faltered and her voice dropped to nearly inaudible.
Damnable! Where did this inexplicable guilty conscience come from?
The Imperial Princess glanced at Anya, whose expression was somewhat strained, but didn't make things difficult for her, and turned her gaze to Aina.
"Aina—where have you just been? Have you seen Luo Nan? He went looking for you." The Imperial Princess asked.
Aina urgently pointed at her own mouth; her pair of large emerald eyes were misted with tears, and she kept gesturing with her small hands.
"Let me explain," Anya could see at a glance that the Silence Technique Aeldelin had placed on Aina had yet to be lifted, and spoke up:
"Aina was kidnapped by an extremely dangerous existence—and that existence's target is Luo Nan!"
"The two of them are currently in confrontation, but Luo Nan requested that we two be sent out first……"
Saying this, Anya clenched her fist tight, seeming to feel shame at her own helplessness.
"An extremely dangerous existence? Who?"
A sound like a spider lily rang out; Anya looked toward the strikingly beautiful black-haired girl beside Serela who exuded a cold, frosty aura.
"This person is……"
"Qili von Medillion." Qili swiftly gave her full name.
"Oh! So you're the sister Luo Nan mentioned?" Anya knocked her fists together, recognizing the identity of the black-haired girl before her.
"……More or less."
What does "more or less" mean?
But Anya didn't dwell on the girl's identity; she continued: "That dangerous existence has a disguised identity—her name is Ailin Hilde, and she's a writer."
She glanced at Serela.
"I will investigate this person." The Imperial Princess understood immediately.
"Her true name is Aeldelin—Luo Nan told me. Her surname is unclear; her appearance is that of a beautiful lady with red hair, red eyes, and a figure that's…… exceptionally outstanding. Extremely powerful—Luo Nan said she has a means of concealing her own existence that even a Demigod-tier individual would struggle to detect!"
"I can personally attest to that!" Anya added.
"Mm-hmm-hmm!" Aina also nodded along.
"Demigod-tier……" Serela momentarily fell into a flicker of hesitation.
"Where is she?! Take me there now!" Qili, however, didn't hesitate for a single moment—as if she hadn't heard the three words "Demigod-tier" at all.
With that, Qili drew the longsword at her waist; three feet of cold light radiated from the blade's tip, proclaiming its master's resolve.
"Miss Qili! That is an existence that can rival a Demigod-tier! Should we not seek outside help first?"
Anya wanted to go back and save him too, but she understood that the gulf in strength would not be bridged by personal determination alone.
"That person is nothing more than an ordinary individual, and yet he dares to face such a powerful opponent head-on—does Miss Anya think I am worse than him?"
Qili's silver eyes flashed coldly.
"……"
Anya very much wanted to point out that your brother is actually a Supernatural Practitioner too.
But she held back.
Because she could feel, emanating from the black-haired girl before her, an exceptionally powerful and sharp sword intent—as well as a supernatural fluctuation far exceeding her own.
"At least Tier Two Late-Stage, and possibly even Tier Two Peak!" After estimating Qili's strength in her mind, Anya couldn't help but draw a sharp breath.
She had thought that given her own age and power, she was already considered a prodigious genius.
But she hadn't expected……
She recalled what Luo Nan had told her—that the two of them were the same age.
Which meant Qili could not possibly be older than herself.
Thinking of this, Anya was suddenly struck with a deep, bone-deep sense of defeat.
"Miss Anya, please lead the way as fast as possible." Qili said coolly.
"Alright! Follow me!"
She, Anya Sivans, might be temporarily weaker than Luo Nan's sister in terms of power—but that was fine, strength could be caught up to.
But in terms of bearing, will, and resolve, she, Anya, was confident she was second to none!
Just like when she had clawed her way out of Gray Street!
Golden eyes and silver eyes met for a brief moment; both could see the determination in each other's gaze.
"Thank you, Miss Anya." Qili gave a slight nod.
"Lady Serela, I'll take Miss Qili to find Luo Nan first—please take care of Aina and seek help along the way!" Anya made her request of Serela.
"Ha…… to think there would come a day when I'd need to play backup," Serela gave a light laugh. "Of course—I'll leave both of them to you."
In this moment, the four girls split into two pairs and headed off toward different objectives.
"Luo Nan, don't you dare die on me!"
"Luo Nan von Medillion—I will not permit you to die so carelessly at another's hands and sully the Medillion honor!"
"My Luo Nan—you surely won't make me a 'widow,' will you?"
"Young Master, please come back safely……"